Appalachian Power, Wheeling Power File Fuel Costs With West Virginia Public Service Commission

Appalachian Power, along with Wheeling Power, today submitted its annual Expanded Net Energy Cost (ENEC) filing to the W.Va. Public Service Commission (PSC) for reimbursement of past and ongoing costs of fuel (primarily coal) and purchased power.
The $108 million filing includes approximately $76 million for past fuel costs and deferrals, as well as an $8 million adjustment to bring fuel and other charges in line with actual costs.
“The gap between actual fuel costs and the revenue collected through customer rates has been growing steadily over the past year,” said Appalachian Power President and COO Charles Patton. “While we are seeing lower costs for coal now, the coal we’ve already contracted for ‒ or even already have on the ground at our power plants ‒  doesn’t reflect that lower cost. However, with time we will begin to see the positive effects of lower coal costs.”
Also included in the filing is $20 million in transmission investment for eight transmission construction projects now under way in the company’s service area.
Another $4.5 million is for recovery of construction costs associated with converting Appalachian Power’s Clinch River Plant from a coal-fired to a natural gas-fired plant. That conversion is almost complete, with one unit beginning to provide natural gas-fired power this week, and the other set to start this spring.
If the filing is approved by the Commission, a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see an increase of $8.70 or 8 percent. Combined with a previously announced rate adjustment, the request will bring the monthly bill to $125, close to the national average residential price for electricity of $127 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours. *
The company also filed with the PSC an annual report of its energy efficiency and demand side management programs. The company offers several energy efficiency programs to help customers reduce their usage and control costs.  More than 7,600 customers took advantage of these programs last year to reduce their electric usage.  Tips for saving energy, and information regarding how customers can participate in these energy efficiency programs can be found at www.TakeChargeWV.com.